On February 27, 2020, the Jerry Holmes Leadership Program held its third biennial Holmes Leadership Symposium. Organized around the theme “Leadership for a Changing World," the symposium explored diversity in leadership and the role of leaders in building inclusive cultures, meaningful relationships, high-performing teams, and successful organizations. Over 250 students and professionals participated in the day-long event. The symposium was underwritten by premier sponsors BP and Northrop Grumman, session sponsor Shell, and JHLP annual sponsors Boeing, Gen. Jerry Holmes, Bill Kennedy, and Ben and Laura Lopez.
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Speaker Robin Minthorn and OU Tribal Liaison Warren Queton
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Dr. Robin Minthorn (University of Washington Tacoma) delivered the lunchtime plenary address, “Centering an Indigenous Leadership Perspective." A citizen of the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma and a descendant of the Umatilla/Nez Perce/Apache and Assiniboine Nations, Dr. Minthorn took the audience through her personal journey, an inspiring story of perseverance, achievement, and community impact. Recognizing that Native Americans have their "own cultural ways of doing" leadership, she encouraged attendees to learn from indigenous approaches and values, such as generosity, activism, and humility with confidence. While the prevailing U.S. culture rewards ambition and encourages aspiring leaders to take charge, indigenous people may be reluctant to promote themselves. Instead, indigenous leaders are often "called forward" and assume the responsibilities of leadership as a service to their communities. This community orientation is crucial, and leaders should always ask, "Am I being a good relative?" "Committed relationships are essential to deep transformation," Dr. Minthorn said, encouraging leaders to "be aware of those who came before, those we are with, and those who will come after us."
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Major General (Ret.) Jerry Holmes with Terri Kelly
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The evening keynote address was given by Terri Kelly, mechanical engineer and former CEO of W.L. Gore and Associates. Kelly highlighted the successes and challenges of W.L. Gore’s unique organizational structure and management style. She highlighted the value of diversity and its role in enhancing creativity, and she shared strategies for fostering innovation through an inclusive culture. "The largest inhibitors to driving change are cultural," she said, "and leaders must enact the culture they want to reinforce. The worst thing you can do is espouse certain values, have them prominently displayed on the wall, but everything you experience contradicts the commitment to living those values." She stressed the necessity of healthy debate in high-performing teams. "You need to invest time to build a trusting foundation... When done constructively, you raise the performance of the team, and differences of opinion aren’t viewed as a personal attack, but each person trying to work towards the best outcome for the business."
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Shihui Liu, GCoE student, shakes hand of Cheryle Jackson
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Breakout sessions followed the plenary address. Cheryle Jackson, CEO of Grit and Grace and former Senior Vice President of Global Business Development and President of AAR Africa, talked about developing the attitude of grace, a personal love, respect, value and support system for oneself. Grace, she said, is important especially for the difficult times when hard work and skills are no longer enough.
Dr. Ryan Bisel, Professor of Organizational Communication at OU, led a conversation about creating inclusive cultures in organizations. Panelists included psychology professor Dr. Shane Connelly and Dr. Michael Kramer, Pavitra Kavya and Marissa Flores from the Department of Communication. Through personal anecdotes and research findings, the panel shared expert views on effective management and communication strategies for building an inclusive, positive, and creative work environment.
The second set of breakout sessions included a scientific examination of human bias and an alumni panel discussion of diversity in the workplace. Dr. David Gordon, Department Chair of Neurology at the University of Oklahoma, discussed the neuroscience of unconscious bias, its applications to leadership, and strategies to mitigate the proliferation of bias in organizations. The alumni panel was moderated by Lynn Ghose Cabrera (Excalibre Consulting) and featured Y.K. Cheong (Microsoft), Malik El-Amin (Griot Theatre), Tejashri Joshi Kyle (University of Texas, Austin), and Shantel Edwards (Siemens Energy). Panelists discussed effective leadership in work teams, their cultures’ influence on their professional development, and the benefits of diverse perspectives on decision-making.
At the time of the symposium, the COVID-19 pandemic was just gathering steam in the U.S. Many of us were aware but not particularly concerned. Little did we know how much would change in a few weeks. The lessons shared by the symposium speakers—about building community, the importance of long-range thinking, and leading in a volatile world—were prescient and timely. We are grateful for our speakers, our sponsors, and all the attendees who made this symposium such a success.
